For the second consecutive game, rookie running back Montee Ball fumbled the ball away. This time it was in the fourth quarter Monday night against the Oakland Raiders as the Broncos were trying to run out the clock. In the previous game against the New York Giants, Ball fumbled the ball away into the end zone, spoiling a long, opening drive.

Despite appearances, Broncos coach John Fox said during his press conference Tuesday that Ronnie Hillman did not get the call to score on a 1-yard touchdown run because the second-year back won a “rock, paper, scissors” game from fellow tailbacks Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball.

Early in the fourth quarter, Hillman had sprinted through a crease up the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Raiders’ 1. The Broncos called a timeout and Hillman joined Moreno and Ball on the sidelines.

As the de facto starter and the longest-tenured running back on the Broncos, Knowshon Moreno can be something of a leader among the young group, which includes second-year player Ronnie Hillman and rookies Montee Ball and C.J. Anderson. On Sunday, that leadership role could have meant words with Ball, who made a crucial fumble on a would-be touchdown in the end zone; however, Moreno chose a more hands-off approach.

“When a guy messes up or something doesn’t go your way, you’ve got to kind of let the guy vent a little bit,” Moreno said after the game. “He knows he made a mistake, so you don’t say much. Maybe a little bit later on in the game or later on after the play you might say a little thing. Guys know when they mess up.”Read more…

Jacob Hester gets a congratulations from coach John Fox after his TD against Arizona last week. (Jack Dempsey, The Associated Press)

The Broncos called running back/fullback Jacob Hester at about 11 p.m. Saturday. It was not with good news. The team informed Hester he was released.

The 5-foot-11, 225-pound Hester was the Broncos only fullback and had made the initial 53-man roster.

After playing four seasons with the San Diego chargers, Hester was cut at this time last year and signed in late-November with the Broncos. He played in three regular-season games for the Broncos and their playoff loss against Baltimore.

“I’m a little bit surprised, a little shocked,” Hester said Sunday morning. He had just signed a lease on a place Saturday.

The Broncos are expected to soon sign a player at another position to their 53-man roster.

The Broncos now have four tailbacks on their roster: Montee Ball, Knowshon Moreno, Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson, who is out another two to four weeks with a sprained medical collateral ligament in his right knee.

Willis McGahee on his first day of Broncos minicamp in 2013. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Much was made of how incumbent starting running back Willis McGahee received few reps Tuesday during the first day of minicamp while Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball again got their share.

I wasn’t there Tuesday but I can add the perspective that coach John Fox has historically eased players back from injury or inactivity. McGahee is both returning from a right knee injury and 10 missed offseason training activity (OTA) sessions.

That doesn’t mean McGahee won’t remain the No. 3 running back as the Broncos enter training camp. It doesn’t mean much on June 11.

After two years on injured reserve, running back Mario Fannin will not go to a third training camp with the Broncos.

The former Auburn running back was not at the team’s Dove Valley complex Wednesday as the Broncos went through the third day of organized team activities (OTA). Fannin missed the 2011 season after suffering a knee injury in training camp and then missed the 2012 season after suffering an Achilles injury in training camp.

Fannin was formally waived Tuesday afternoon and is expected to clear waivers Wednesday. When he clears waivers he could sign with any team.

INDIANAPOLIS — Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno has had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee since the end of the season. Broncos coach John Fox confirmed the surgery when asked Thursday morning at the NFL’s scouting combine.

Moreno underwent a treatment to insert stem cells harvested from bone marrow in his pelvis into his right knee. It is the same knee Moreno tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to end his 2011 season.

Moreno is currently rehabbing at the Broncos’ Dove Valley complex. The running back, who just finished his fourth year with the team, left the Broncos’ playoff loss to the Ravens with a knee injury.

Ronnie Hillman was born in Long Beach, Calif., and played high school football in nearby Orange County. So the Broncos rookie running back can be forgiven if he’s shivering through the current cold snap in Denver.

Apparently, the former San Diego State standout did not acclimate to Front Range weather conditions during college road trips to Mountain West schools such as Air Force, Colorado State and Wyoming.

Broncos defensive end Von Miller probably didn’t have to be reminded that during Denver’s current 10-game winning streak, Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles is the only opponent to reach the century mark in rushing. Charles netted 107 yards on 23 carries in the Broncos’ 17-9 win at Kansas City on Nov. 25.

Not only that, Kansas City is the only team to reach 100 yards (126) against the Broncos during that span.

“He can make things happen, without a lot of help from (a struggling Chiefs offense),” Miller added. “We just have to keep him bottled up. I know that sounds pretty simple. But he’s a great running back.”

It was there for the viewing audience to see, never mind the Broncos coaching staff: rookie running back Ronnie Hillman missed a block in pass protection that led to one of the two sacks against Peyton Manning last weekend in the Denver win at Baltimore.

The Broncos continue to work with Hillman (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) in that important facet of the game, Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said Thursday.

“(Hillman) is a young player, and with young players there’s going to be a learning curve,” McCoy said. “When you’re in college, you’re not playing against the same type of players as here. It’s faster, bigger, stronger, all those terms everyone wants to use.

“It’s just one of those deals, He’s been working hard. And technique-wise, there’s some little things that we’re teaching him to do so he’ll get better with time.”

My story on former Bronco and long-time Centennial resident Otis Armstrong is in the Sunday paper and here. Otis will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame Tuesday night at the National Football Foundation dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

I was very impressed with Otis’ lack of bitterness over his exclusion from the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, an honor he obvious deserves — on the basis of winning the 1974 NFL rushing title and more — but has been denied, perhaps because of his long legal battle to receive disability and final contract payments, plus his lawsuit against team doctors. Read more…

Broncos rookie running back Ronnie Hillman said he’s not nervous about getting more carries Sunday at Kansas City but acknowledged that he is “very excited” at the opportunity.

“Practice was different (this week), but it was cool,” Hillman said Friday before the Broncos departed for KC.

Even when getting some practice snaps with the starters, Hillman said he had to treat it as all business.

“I’m a young guy,” he said, “so I can’t afford to play around (in practice) like the older guys.”

The Broncos’ regular running back, Willis McGahee, is out six to eight weeks with an MCL sprain (right knee) and compression fracture. His roster spot was not filled this week, leaving Hillman, Lance Ball and Knowshon Moreno to replace him.

Hillman said the Broncos (7-3) expect the Chiefs (1-9) to give Denver their best shot. “Teams play tougher in division games,” Hillman said.

Running back Knowshon Moreno, the Broncos’ first selection in the 2009 draft, has been designated inactive for the past eight games. But that likely will end Sunday in the game at Kansas City.

On Monday, Broncos coach John Fox mentioned Moreno among the top candidates to replaced injured starter Willis McGahee, who tore the MCL in his right knee a day earlier against San Diego and could miss the remainder of the regular season and beyond.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Moreno showed a sense of humor when it was suggested that he should be fresh.

They are ranked 19th in the NFL with 105.3 yards per game. But they are No. 3 in total offense (394.2) and No. 2 in scoring (30.1). The primary purpose of the Broncos running game is to, first, give receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker a blow and let the offensive linemen attack instead of absorb. And secondly, set up Peyton Manning’s play-action passes.

A victory by the Broncos Sunday over San Diego at Sports Authority Field at Mile High would in effect give Denver a four-game lead on the Chargers in the AFC West because the Broncos would hold the tiebreaker between the two.

But Broncos running back Willis McGahee said Wednesday that the team can’t afford to think that way.

“We’re in great shape (in the divisional race), but we’re still just taking it one day at a time,” McGahee said.

“We know we’re on top of the division. But we’re just going to play it one game at a time. We have San Diego coming in. We know they’re a great team. They have a good offense, a great defensive line, a great defense, period. We have to focus on that.”

It’s always tough to beat a talented team twice in a season, McGahee said.

“We know it’s going to be difficult,” he said. “They’ve been watching film. They are going to try to attack our weaknesses. But at the end of the day, as long as we do what we need to do, we’ll come out OK.”

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.